


A Spider's Venom

by butterflybrigade



Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, Venom (Comics), Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: -ish?, Attempt at Humor, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ratings may change, Some Fluff, Some angst, description of injury, don't know identity, just not on a schedule, mild time hopping, sort of descriptive?, summary is shit btw, there will be more chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:21:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29676933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butterflybrigade/pseuds/butterflybrigade
Summary: Eddie is a bit of an enigma to Peter, but they're drawn to each other anyway. As they become closer, Peter works harder to conceal his identity as Spiderman.How long until the truth comes out?Or: Venom and Spiderman have battles, but neither of the two know the other's identity. Lol. Fluff and angst.
Relationships: Eddie Brock/Peter B. Parker, Eddie Brock/Peter Parker, Venom/Spiderman
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	1. Introductions

The sound of zooming cars, loud conversations, and cacophony of street music would be enough to overwhelm anyone let alone the smell of exhaust and cigarette smoke. Streetlights were mere suggestions for beat up cars to follow, but the unsaid code was unbroken despite fist waving drivers. One bicycle dashed through the maze like it knew the path by heart. Quick reflexes prevented any collisions and almost seemed to predict them. Beat up high topped white sneakers pushed the pedals harder until a few sharp turns brought its rider to their destination. The rider hopped off in a frenzy while fastening the bike to the alley wall by a web with ease.

Helmet hair was paid no attention as the young guy quickened his pace into the convenience store. The door was broken, but all the locals knew the quirks to actually get it to open. 

“Mrs. Perelli, you’re not gonna believe it!” Peter excitedly scanned the store for any sign of the bitter woman. She had a sense of disdain for the world, but deep down Peter knew that she just wanted some sort of excuse to change her mind. Despite the cynicism, she was always kind to Peter.

He didn’t see her right away, but it didn’t phase him as he ungracefully dug through his satchel to fish out one of the copies of the day’s paper. He could hear a heartbeat in the store, so his landlady must have just been restocking. 

“Holy shit- I mean crap- did you get a shipment of the mini tiramisus?” he left the paper on the counter as he bolted for the spot that had been empty on the shelf for a month. He wanted to cry when he saw the Italian prepackaged, preservative stuffed sweets practically calling his name. There’s no way the day could have  _ possibly  _ gone better. He grabbed two.

“My first article was published in the Bugle!” Peter couldn’t stop from already opening a pack and taking a bite. He was fishing out the cash as he walked back to the front. “Jameson said he hated it, but I don’t know what else he wants from me.” The last part was barely comprehensible with cheeks stuffed with cakey goodness.

He preened at the sound of thin paper shuffling and exited the aisle only to be confronted with a tall man behind the counter instead of a little plump Italian woman.

“Uh… you’re not Mrs. Perelli.” Peter froze in place at the appearance of the stranger. He was… oh wow, he was a good looking guy. A loose fitting hoodie hung open by the zipper to show off a black t-shirt that hugged the man’s chest like it felt lucky to be there. His dark hair was cropped, but left a little to grow out on top just to give some dimension. Peter’s throat went dry as the man’s downcast gaze turned away from the paper and to him while full lips tugged into a grin.

“I would hope not. I think a little existential crisis would be in order if I was.” there was amusement in the tone as he took in what must have been Peter’s starstruck expression. Peter’s ears burned as the guy looked back down and kept turning the pages like he knew what to look for. 

“Oh, you don’t have to-” Peter set down his snacks and cash to embarrassingly take back the paper. The man just slightly pulled the paper just out of reach as he reached the very last page and gazed to the down right corner.

“ ‘A Hero Steps In’, this you?” there’s a lilt in the man’s voice that gives away a bit of distinction from the neighborhood. Peter wasn’t sure why, but he couldn’t help but feel like he was the one under scrutiny. 

“Um… yeah.” Peter felt like he had to respond if only to just fill the air. The man hummed as he continued his reading. Now closer, Peter could see that his dark eyes were in fact a bluish color instead of brown like he originally thought. There was a bit of an art as the way the shitty lights above reflected in his eyes as the man read. Scruff had matured but wasn’t exactly a beard on the man’s face and it framed such full lips…

“Not bad, Peter.” His voice was gravely, but not unpleasant.

“How did you- oh,” Peter laughed a bit nervously and scratched the back of his head. “The credits, right.” The man looked back, or rather down Peter should say. There wasn’t a drastic height difference, but it was enough to make Peter feel a bit small when paired with the guy’s slightly more physically imposing form.

“Where are my manners?” he smiled forgivingly while also looking a bit sheepish himself. “I’m Eddie.” he held out his hand for Peter to shake and it was as firm as he expected. He would have put more thought into it if it weren’t for the sincere smile that the shake paired with.

“Nice to meet you.” Peter could feel himself begin to relax more when the guy-Eddie- leaned his elbows on the counter. It was a relaxed position while also showing off some definition in those arms. Dammit Peter, pull it together. “Where’s Mrs. Perelli?”

“She said something about having to run a few errands.” he shrugged. “Left me in charge of the place till she came back.”

“Oh, that’s… cool.” Peter was thankful that Eddie seemed to brush off the awkwardness by switching his attention to plugging in numbers on the register and trading the crumpled cash for change.

“Yeah. My first day here, but I’ve worked places like this.”

“Really, where? You have an accent.” Peter wanted to smack himself the moment he spoke. Eddie arched an eyebrow in his direction, a smug smirk playing at the corner of his mouth.

“Do I?” it was like Eddie knew something Peter didn’t and it was only more intriguing. He chuckled a bit to himself. “I’m actually from here, or just New York I should say.”

Peter felt confused as his sharp ears were saying differently.

“ _ But _ , I did just move back here from San Francisco.” he added like a punchline to a joke.

“I knew it.” Peter felt some of the tension release as he laughed at the tease.

“Good journalism skills.” Eddie gave him a subtle wink before sliding change back across the counter. Peter cleared his throat to try and regain some semblance of normal human behavior. 

“Speaking of which, how did you know where my article would be?” Peter crumpled the money back into his pocket to find that he was quite interested in the answer.

“You mentioned it was your first article, yeah?” Peter nodded. “The new kid’s article is always at the very last place people look when they read the newspaper.” Eddie dropped it factually.

“First of all, 20. So, no not a kid.”

“Noted.”

“And second,” Peter had to force himself to ignore Eddie “how would you know that?” 

“I used to be a reporter around here.” another shrug. “Took me a couple years and dumb choices to get my stuff on the front page.”

“Where did you work?” Peter’s curiosity was piqued with this strange guy.

“Journalist, right? Consider finding that information practice.” Eddie gave back in a roundabout way. Was that some way to have a future conversation? “So your piece. Who is this bug boy?” He turned the paper around and pointed at the absolute smallest picture that took up the least amount of space.

“Spiderman is what he goes by.” it always felt weird to talk to himself in the third person. “He’s like this hero. Helps a lot of people out, he’s pretty cool.”

“Well, not so sure about the guy, but your writing is pretty good.”

“Why aren’t you sure about Spiderman?” Peter thought his tone was even enough not to be suspicious.

“Nothing personal. Just that the crooks he hands off always slip out of the judicial system. There was this investigation I-” the annoying digital beeper went off as Mrs. Perelli shuffled in and it didn’t go off until she tapped the thing with the broom.

“Eddie, I thought you said you were going to fix this door.” she huffed grumpily as the guy stood to more attention.

“Of course ma’am. Peter here was just distracting me with some breaking news.”

Peter shot him a look of ‘ _ you threw me under the bus, asshole _ ’ to which he silently conveyed back ‘ _ deal with it _ ’. 

“And what Mr. Parker would be so important to keep my workers from doing their job?” she put her hands on her hips like she was about to shoo a cat out of the kitchen. Peter shook his head and handed her the newspaper. Her chubby hands gripped the pages while she adjusted her readers.

“Well, would you look at that?” she didn’t smile per se, but her frown was as relaxed as he’d seen it in a long time. “Keep up the good work, Peter.” she nodded without much other fuss, but Peter glowed nonetheless.

That was high praise in his landlady’s vocabulary. She only proved his point when she folded and tucked the newspaper under her arm for safe keeping.

“Alright, scram. Quit disturbing my employees.” she waved her hands for emphasis, to which Peter just nodded politely before exiting to the back stairs. Peter looked back one last time to see her muttering to herself but also to catch Eddie throwing a small wave his direction.


	2. Connecting the Webs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MJ helps Peter connect the dots.

“MJ, you don’t get it he's, like, super good looking.” the cell was squeezed between his cheek and ear as he battled the spandex onto his body.

“Whatever, I’ll believe it when I see it. Your taste in people has always been a bit skewed.”

“Uh, fuck you ma’am.” there was no bite despite the frustration.

“Come on, you liked  _ me _ at one point.” her tone was deadpanned and sarcastic as always. “Go over the details again, I’ll try to care this time.”

Peter groaned, now slipping his boots on.

“Tall broody man that I’m pretty sure only owns hoodies and jeans. If he would just wear  _ something  _ a bit tighter-”

“Focus.”

“Yeah, yeah. Is an ex-journalist from New York, but lived in San Fran for a while.” he set the phone on the dresser while adjusting his mask. There was a pause that made him wonder if he lost MJ.

“What did you say his name was?” It was an actually curious question which was surprising.

“Eddie, but what-”

“Oh my god Peter, you are an idiot.”

“What did I do this time?” now completely suited up he flailed his arms.

“You’ve probably been flirting with Eddie Brock, you dumb shit.” her tone was flat and incredulous at the same time.

“No way…” he froze as he slowly put the images and pieces together of old TV interviews he watched when he was younger. Oh, shit there was a reason he looked familiar.

“The fact that you are a journalist really blows me away sometimes.”

“Shut up MJ.” he checked a notification of a police wire he hacked about a month ago. “Look, I have to go, so enjoy your time planning out your next list of insults.”

“I always do. Don’t forget we’re hanging out for Ned’s birthday on Friday.”

“Got it.”

“Stay safe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so this is the part where time hopping comes in a little bit. It's not how I usually write, but I'm trying something new! Thank you for any feedback and kudos!

**Author's Note:**

> I appreciate the feedback and hope you all enjoyed!


End file.
